As is known by persons skilled in the art, the distribution of seeds into furrows is extremely beneficial as there is a correlation between the distribution of the seeds and the productivity of the crops that are normally planted.
Various inventors and companies have been investing resources in a search for innovative products and for a way that will provide better distribution of seeds in planting furrows.
Various types of seed meters are known in the art, including the horizontal disc type, the pneumatic type and the finger seed meters, among others. The purpose of all of them is to distribute seeds at regular intervals so that they enter the planting furrows at a predetermined spacing so that crops can be grown in a regular way.
Normally, based on the known prior art, these seed meters are above the level of the soil and the seeds get to the soil by falling down due to the force of gravity, through a conductor of the seed-distribution machines, which may be curved backward, permitting the seeds to fall into the planting furrows. This system also avoids setbacks taking place in the longitudinal distribution into the planting furrows.
In recent times, JOHN DEERE® filed a patent application PI1000054-2 that shows a distribution system of seeds that removes the seed from the seed meter by taking a seed from the seed meter and moving it in a downward direction to a release point. The seed is dropped at a high speed backward in a horizontal direction, which is approximately equal to the speed and movement in a forward direction of a planting machine. This is done in such a way that, when it is offloaded, it has a low or zero horizontal speed relative to the soil. Rolling of the seed in the soil is reduced due to the horizontal speed being close to zero in relation to the soil. Therefore, the combination of the fall and the controlled offloading at a horizontal speed that is substantially zero in relation to the soil, reduces the variability in the seed spaces.
In spite of the benefits and the use of the aforementioned patent being deemed as satisfactory, the results are not so satisfactory when the equipment is used in rugged micro reliefs. It is known that these micro reliefs are detected by the planting machines that have to deal with these oscillations, which are then passed to the seed meter, which, in turn, transfers the seeds. As a result, it loses, at least in part, the effect that was desired by the above solution.
It is worth reiterating that the planting machines of the prior art have a depth-limiting wheel that is in contact with the soil. As its name suggests, it limits the depth of the furrows with the disc cutters. These discs cut into the soil creating furrows for the seeds to be placed in. It is known that the soil is irregular and uneven on its surface and this was particularly noted in the planting systems known as “direct planting” or “direct planting in straw.” In these cultivation systems, there is no soil plowing nor harrowing; it is simply planted over the remains of previously planted plants. The irregularities in the soil surface or irregularities of micro terrains are especially high in relation to traditional planting systems that use the plough and the harrow to obtain uniformity of the soil. For direct planting, there is a lot of evidence for the use of various machines, trackers, planters, harvesters, crop spraying machines, amongst others, which all end up making the land irregular.